Professor Emeritus

Professor Colin Jones: He was Professor of Estate Management at Heriot-Watt University fro 1998 until 30 September 2025, and is now Emeritus Professor. He formerly worked at the Universities of Manchester, Glasgow and the West of Scotland.  His research interests span commercial, industrial and housing market economics and policy, as well as the global south.  Colin has edited or authored eleven books including Housing Markets and Planning Policy (2009), the Dimensions of the Sustainable City, Office Markets and Public Policy (2013), (with S Cowe and E Trevillion) Property Boom and Banking Bust (2017), Urban Economy: Real Estate Economics and Public Policy (2021), and (with E Trevillion) Real Estate Investment: Theory and Practice (2022), and Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal Against Poverty in Developing Nations (2024). He has published more than eighty papers in academic journals.  Colin was winner of the Royal Town Planning Institute’s 2013 award for excellence in academic spatial planning research. 

Professor Cliff Hague: Cliff taught as Professor of Planning and Spatial Development at Heriot-Watt University from 1969 to 2004. Cliff has held prominent leadership positions, including President of the Royal Town Planning Institute in 1996 and the Commonwealth Association of Planners from 2000 to 2006, and chaired the Cockburn Association, Edinburgh’s civic trust, from 2016 to 2023.

Honorary Professors

Professor Jennifer Roe: Jennifer (Jenny) Roe, PhD, is an environmental psychologist and Professor Emerita at the University of Virginia, internationally recognised for her research on human-centred design, health, and wellbeing in cities and landscapes.

Professor Douglas Smith: Doug Smith is a leading voice and expert on a range of areas including commercial property, economic development, inward investment and regeneration. A qualified chartered surveyor, he currently serves as Consultant to CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm.

Professor Ed Trevillion: Ed Trevillion has extensive experience across academia, industry, and policy, specialising in real estate investment and finance, with a particular interest in property market behaviour and adaptive modelling. He has published widely on real estate markets and co-authored leading texts on property investment and the UK property market.

Professor David Hunter: David Hunter is a leading figure in the UK real estate sector. He brings extensive experience in investment management, corporate governance and property portfolio leadership, alongside senior advisory and chair roles across public and private real estate organisations. Through his advisory work, he has played a significant role in shaping large-scale property investment and urban development initiatives.

Honorary Fellows

Euan Leitch: Euan Leitch became Chief Executive of SURF (Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum) in 2021 after eight years at the Built Environment Forum Scotland. His work centres on connecting the built environment with community regeneration, inequality, and climate action, with a strong emphasis on community involvement.

Irene Beautyman: Irene Beautyman works at the Improvement Service Scotland, championing place-based approaches that link public health, local government, and wellbeing. With a 30-year background in town planning, she led the development of Scotland’s Place and Wellbeing Outcomes and the Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme, supporting collaborative action to reduce inequality and improve wellbeing across Scotland.

Visiting Scholars

Dr Elig Gegzin: Dr Elif Gezgin is a sociologist and artist whose academic research focuses on race and ethnicity, social inequalities, social movements and art. Elig is visiting scholar on the Roma PlaceAge project as a researcher (with Professor Ryan Woolrych), addressing healthy ageing and social inclusion among Roma communities aged 40+.

Professor Sinval Xavier: Sinval Cantarelli Xavier is an academic at the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG) in Brazil, specialising in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the spatial analysis of environmental challenges, including flooding and extreme weather events. His work bridges urban studies, environmental planning and social justice, with a strong focus on participatory and community-based research in Brazil.

Melinda Dinh: Melinda is a Visiting Scholar and PhD candidate (by publication), researching the labour market experiences of family reunification migrants in Switzerland. Her research interests focus on the relation between immigration motives, especially family reunification and labour market integration. She is based on campus until at least the end of June 2026 and is supervised by Gina Netto.

Jose Henrique Cordeiro: José Henrique Cordeiro is a PhD researcher at the PROGRAU – Postgraduate Programme in Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), Brazil. His research focuses on urban and regional development, with particular attention to socio-environmental challenges, planning and public policy. He adopts interdisciplinary and participatory approaches, contributing to academic research and collaborative initiatives linked to community and territorial development in Brazil.